Method of making handbags and products



Nov. 10, 1953 F. o. BUDNICK METHOD OF MAKING HANDBAGS AND PRODUCTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1950 IN VEN TOR. lkq/rk d firm/wax NOV. 10, 1953 O BUDNICIQ 2,658,543

METHOD OF MAKING HANDBAGS AND PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 5, 1950 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H I h ll I HVVENTOR. I47 5 Fm/vx o. Baa/mac Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING HANDBAGS AND PRODUCTS 4 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and improved method or process of making purses, hand bags or similar products from plastics or plastic labll lly invention relates more particularly to a method of forming a rounded edge support wh ch adds both to the appearance and the wearing qualities of bags of the type described. The edge support is usually applied along the slide fastener opening of the purse and is n the nature of a long tube member formed in the plastic fabric by fusing or welding the fabrlc together to form a tube and then closing the ends 111 a similar way so that air is trapped in the elongated chamber formed. This provides a flexible, com pressible edge support which can be pressed out of shape during handling of the purse but assumes its original shape when released.

The principal object of the invent1on is to provide an improved process for providing an improved edge support in hand bags, purses and similar articles.

A further object of the invention 1s to provide an improved process for reinforcing the edges of a purse, handbag or similar article around its slide fastener opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of hand bag, purse, or similar article, having an opening edge support in the form of an elongated tube.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand-bag or purse of the type described that 15 easily and cheaply made and serviceable through hard use without becoming broken or out of order.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings,

upon which Fig. 1 is a front perspective vlew of a woman hand bag constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a central sectional view thereof taken generally on the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section through the slide fastener and associated parts showing the manner in which the tubular edge support is constructed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, showing the manner in which the ends of the supporting tubes are sealed; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the slide fastener opening and associated parts of the hand bag.

Purses, hand-bags, vanity kits and similar products have been made of different types of plastic fabrics for some time. The various plastic parts can readily be adhered together by welding or fusing the parts together by heat and pressure, thereby forming a bond between the parts inherently as strong as the fabric itself. Heretofore, in connecting cloth to plastic fabric the usual has been to sew the part together. Thus for example, the slide fastener is usually found in the articles above mentioned, the same being normally supplied connected to two strips of cloth which are sewed in the opening of the bag.

I have found, however, that by applying heat and pressure and placing portions of the plastic fabric on both sides of a piece of a cloth, the plastic mass will penetrate the interstices of the cloth from both sides forming a firm bond with the individual strands of thread in the cloth, so that the cloth piece is firmly fixed to the plastic fabric and cannot be removed except by tearing the cloth and the plastic fabric.

The process above described is shown in my recently issued Patent No. 2,475,277, dated July 5 1949.

In the embodiment of the invention which I have chosen to describe, I have shown a ladies bag It which may be constructed throughout of plastic fabric and may comprise the body portions l2, the liners l4 and the slide fastener strips it which are secured to the plastic liner and wall portion of the bag in accordance with the usual practice employed in fusing together plastic portions and more particularly as explained in my above mentioned patent.

The manner in which the cloth strips 1 5 which contain the slide fastener l8 are fastened to the inner liners l4 and outer covers I2 will now be described. The plastic fabric is folded to provide U-shaped grooves 20 and the edges of the strips l6 are inserted therein. A strip of plastic material 22 is now applied with the portion 23 encircling the portion 29 of the liner. Heat and pressure are now applied at the points 24 and 2B of the strip 22 resulting in the compression and the fusing of the two plastic strips together and a further fusing of the plastic fabric into the cloth strip.

The thickness of the plastic fabric strips and the thickness of the cloth strip will normally determine the exact pressure required as well as the degrees of heat which must be applied. The effect of the heat and pressure as applied upon both sides of the two thicknesses of the plastic fabrics is to cause the plastic material to be flowed together and also to be flowed among and between the threads of the cloth strips thereby creating a bond between all of the material, that is the two thicknesses of plastic fabric on each side of the cloth material and the material so that under normal wear and tear it is impossible to separate the same.

The balance of the strip 22 is now formed into a tube 30 with the edge 32 of the same fused thereto by heat and pressure so that a tubular portion 34 extending the length of the bag is provided. Now by applying heat and pressure to the ends 36 of the tube, the same are also flowed together and a sealed tube filled with air is provided. The body portions I2 and liners M of the bag are then turned down and fused together at 38 to complete the construction of the bag. A chain 40 and ring 42 are normally provided for operating the slide fastener l8.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that I have provided a method of forming a slide fastener opening edge support in plastic ladies bags which not only affords a more attractive appearance but also protects the bag along the slide fastener opening against cracking or flattening the material, the tubes 34 normally lying in a plane above the slide fastener opening.

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details and I do not wish to be limited in any particular, rather what I desire to secure and pro tect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A hand bag constructed of a pair of plastic fabric members, one being a U-shaped outer cover member and the other being a U-shaped liner member, said liner member having an elongated central opening in the top end thereof and being folded adjacent the top to provide a pair of parallel elongated grooves positioned upon opposite sides of said opening, a pair of elongated cloth strips secured in said grooves, interlocking slide fastener members secured to the edges of said cloth strips for closing the opening in said central strip portion, and an air filled tube secured between said outer cover member and said liner member and extending along each side of said fastener.

2. A hand bag constructed of a pair of plasticfabric members, one being a U-shaped outer cover member and the other being a U-shaped liner member, said liner member having an elongated central opening in the top end thereof and being folded adjacent the top to provide a pair of parallel elongated grooves positioned upon opposite sides of said opening, a pair of elongated cloth strips secured in said grooves, interlocking slide fastener members secured to the edges of said cloth strips for closing the opening in said central strip portion, and an air filled tube secured between said outer cover member and said liner member and extending along each side of said fastener, each of said air filled tubes having a flange along one side secured between portions of said outer cover member and said liner member.

3. The method of providing an inner protection tube in plastic fabric hand bags of the type which have an outer covering and a separate inner liner, the tube being placed on the side of the opening of the bag, which consists in fusing a strip of plastic fabric between the liner and the covering of the bag, folding the edge of the strip back against itself and fusing it to form an openended tube, and then applying heat and pressure at the ends of the tube to fuse the ends together, sealing air therein to form a closed resilient tubular cushion.

4. The method of providing protecting airfilled tubes in a plastic fabric hand bag on both sides of the slide fastener opening of the same which consists in sealing a pair of strips of plastic fabric between the liner and the covering of the bag, folding the edges of the strips back against the strips and sealing them to form openended tubes, and then sealing the ends of the tubes together sealing air therein to form resilient air-filled cushions.

FRANK O. BUDNICK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,755,548 Lowe Apr. 22, 1930 1,892,679 Penner et a1. Jan. 3, 1933 2,028,216 Hiering Jan. 21, 1936 2,076,452 Felmann Apr. 6, 1937 2,114,625 Bergstein Apr. 19, 1938 2,247,291 Doig June 24, 1941 2,288,105 Plotkin June 30, 1942 2,471,612 Freeman May 31, 1949 2,475,277 Budnik July 5, 1949 2,516,551 Chenoweth July 25, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 396,589 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1933 

